Lock for mail-sacks.



No: 849,040. PATENTED APR. 2, 1907.

- F. S. 'BBNSER & M. M. FAUGETT.

LOCK FOR MAIL SACKS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 21, 1906.

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FRANK S. BENSER AND MILES M. FAUOETT, OF I-IOSKINS, NEBRASKA.

LOCK FDR MAIL-SACKS- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 2, 1907'.

Application filed July 21, 1906. Serial No. 327,195.

To all 1117mm, may concern:

Be it known that we, FRANK S. BENSER and MILES M. FAUCETT, citizens of the United States, residing at Hoskins, in the county of Wayne and State of Nebraska, have invented a new and useful Lock for Mail-Sacks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has relation to looks espe cially adapted to be used upon mailpouches; and it consists in the novel construction and arrangement of its parts, as hereinafter shown and described.

The object of the invention is to provide a lock adapted to be used upon receptacles of the nature indicated, said lock being of durable construction and especially adapted to withstand the strain and hard usage incidental to the transportation and handling of articles of the character stated.

The lock is provided with a link, at an intermediate point of which a cross-bar is located, and to the end of said link is attached a strap, which in turn is provided with a stud adapted to enter the lock and engage the bolt thereof. The said strap is attached to the side of the mail-sack and is provided with an extended or free end, which is adapted to pass behind said cross-bar of the link and operate as a cinch in drawing the look toward the stud when assuming locking engagement therewith.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the upper portion of a mail-sack fitted with a lock. Fig. 2- is a perspective view of the upper portion of a mailsack closed and being fitted with the lock. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the lower half of the lock-casing. Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view tlnough the longitudinal axis of the lock.

The lock-casing consists of the lower half 1 of the casing and the upper half 2 thereof. The term half as applied is used in an approximate sense, as the said parts when assembled form an entire casing, but of themselves do not each constitute an exact half thereof. The said portions of the casing are preferably made from solid forged metal cut and seamed out to form necessary channels to receive the various parts. The lower half 1 is provided with the rectangular channel 3, which is provided at a point intermediate its length with the inwardly-extending shoulders 4. The transverse opening 5 passes through the bottom half 1 and at its upper end merges into the forward end of the said channel 3. The key-post 6 is erected upon the central longitudinal axis of the bottom of the said channel 3. The bolt 7 is provided at one end with the transversely-reduced locking end S, which is chamfered or beveled on its under side, as at 9. Said bolt 7 is provided at or near its middle with the key-opening 9, which surrounds the keypost 6. Said key-opening is provided in one side with a lug 10, over which the key of propersize is adapted to pass. The said lug 10, however, will check the movement of an improper key within the key-opening 9 of the said bolt. The parallel pins 11 extend from the rear end of the said bolt 7 and enter the guide-perforations 12 formed in the rear wall of the channel 3. The coil-spring 13 surrounds the said pins 11 and are interposed between the rear edge of the bolt 7 and the wall of the channel 3. The tension of the said springs 13 13 is such as to have a tendency to maintain the shoulders 14 14 of the bolt 7 in contact with the shoulders 4 formed in the side walls of the channels 3.

The upper face of the portion 1 of the easing is provided with'a transverselyextend ing groove 15, the depth. of which is a trifle greater than the space between its opposite sides at its upper edges.

The casing half 2 is provided with a keyhole 16, which receives the upper end of the key-post 6 and is adapted to receive the key 17. Adjacent the said keyhole 16 the said upper half 2 of the casing is provided with a vertically-protruding portion 18. The said portion 18, being located in close proximity to the said keyhole, protects the same and the key-post 6 from rough usage while in transit. The under side of the head 18 is provided with a vertically-extending cavity 19, which registers with the opening 5 of the casing half 1. The opposite end of the said casing half 2 closes the upper portion of the transversely-extending groove 15, the crossbar 20 of the link 21 having previously been inserted in the said groove 15. Suitable rivets are provided for retaining the casing halves 1 and 2 in proper positions with relation to each other. The link 21 is provided at its opposite end with a cross-bar 22, to which one end of the strap 23 is attached. The said link 21 is bowed slightly longitudinally and at an intermediate point is provided with the cross-bar 241. The stud 25 is mounted upon the strap 23, and the said strap 32 in turn at or in the vicinity of the said stud 25 is riveted or otherwise attached to the mail-pouch 26.

In operation the device works as follows:

The mail having been deposited. in the pouch 26, the upper edge of the said'p'ouch is gathered in one hand and the free end of the strap 23 is passed around the said gathers. The end of the strap is then inserted behind the crossbar 24 of the link 2]., and the said strip is used as a cinch to draw the lock toward the stud. 25. When the opening 5 is in alinement with the end of the stud, the operator pushes down upon the head 18 and forces the end of the stud 25 into the recess 19 of the casing half 2. At the same time the forward edge of the bolt 7 passes under the catch 27 of the said stud 25, and the said stud is thereby retained with relation to the lock. The curve provided in the link 21 enables the same to conform to the contour of the neck of the pouch thus formed. To unlock the pouch, the key 17 is inserted through the keyhole 16 and placed over the key-post 6. The key is then turned, and when the end of the key engages the inward projection of the keyopening 9 of the bolt 7 the said bolt is forced to the rear against the tension of the springs 13 13, when the chamfered end of the said bolt is withdrawn from the notch 27 of the stud 25, and the same may pass laterally out of the said lock. The bolt 7 is rectangular in shape along the edges of its upper and lower faces, and said rectangluar edges are adapted to engage or cooperate with similar surfaces provided in the interior of the casing half 1. T he said bolt is just as thick as the depth of the channel 3, and. the casing half 2 forms a guide for the upper face of the said. bolt.

From the above description it will be obvious that a lock of unusual strength and durability is provided and that the lock is of such configuration as to especially adapt it for the specific purpose for which it is intended.

Having described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A mailpouch lock comprisin a casing half having a longitudinally-exten ing channel with a reduced end and shoulders formed in its side walls, a spring-actuated bolt located in said channel and having a reduced end and laterally-disposed shoulders, a second half closing the first said half and having a keyhole and a vertically-protruding portion in the vicinity thereof, and a strap attached to the lock.

2. A mail-pouch lock comprising casing halves attached together and carrying a slidable bolt, one of the said halves having a transversely-extending groove, a link having a cross-bar located in said groove, the opposite casing half closing the said groove, a strap attached to said link, and a stud mounted upon. said strap.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our own we have hereto affixed. our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

FRANK S. BENSER. MILES M. FAUCETT. WVitnesses: PETER KAUTZ,

ALBERT TEMPLIN. 

